The story of Sister Gita, which she is affectionately called, began with a tragic incident in which her mother was killed in the Kendal Train wreck in Jamaica in 1957. At the age of 7, she was asked to walk among hundreds of dead bodies to identify the body of her mother. Can you imagine having to do that, at age seven? From there, she and her two sisters were admitted into the Maxfield Orphanage, where she stayed for three years until a family adopted her. However, she did not want to separate from her sisters and convinced the family to adopt her two sisters as well. Although, they were showered with wealth, Sister Gita and her sisters never ate dinner at the family table, but instead had to eat with the servants who she said, took such great care of them.
After a few years, the family decided to send them back to the orphanage, Sister Gita said they no longer wanted them. So, off she went along with her two younger siblings, to another orphanage called, Glen Hope. After a few months, Sister Gita didn’t want to be there because she felt unsafe. She tried to convince her sisters to leave with her, but they chose to stay. After that final goodbye to her siblings, Sister Gita left with a garbage bag of the few possessions that she had.
Her story of courage and faith would begin on that very day, because within a year and a half, I was born. She was 17 years old. My father had to do the right thing and marry her even though being with her was his greatest challenge. He grew to love her in his own way. But it wouldn’t be enough – she was a broken spirit, traumatized, abused, abandoned, forgotten, unwanted, unloved and now with a child.
I have often asked myself how she was able to persevere while at the same time protecting me from the pain she endured quietly for so many years. I wondered how she somehow protected me from being abused or molested when that was all she knew as a child. How did she learn to love me so deeply that I would live my life feeling protected by angels, safeguarded from the dark side of life and loved by many? What was inside my mother’s soul that made her find courage and faith despite the fact that the deck seemed to have been stacked against her? What was in her? Who is she?
When Sister Gita later began meditating with the Brahma Kumaris, I began to see another side of her. It was the side of her that protected me during my years of growing up. It was a soft, gentle, angelic aura. You see, she was always having to defend herself, to protect what little she had and to compromise her dignity for the sake of survival. As they say, ‘when the student is ready, the teacher will appear.’ Her teacher was God, the Supreme Being, and she dived in so deeply that within months, you could see a glow about her in which many found solace and love. She had tapped into her pain, trauma and abandonment to allow God’s love to heal her.
It is now over 35 years later since those earlier days of her spiritual awakening and she is now in a different kind of fight. The one that is of the mind. To dive even deeper, she has to believe her past was a gift, her present is the greater gift and her future will be the best gift of all. Right now, I have had to adjust to her remembering or not, dancing in public at the most inappropriate times, singing songs by Drake to strangers and at the same time, seeing her love for God shine through and experiencing her pure heart.
With each moment I see Sister Gita knowing there’s that courageous angel living inside and that the day will come when her private personal victory over her past cannot be prevented. I see my dear #MamaGita as a continuous pillar of love for God and service to humanity. And, since we attract what we believe, I simply awaken to this Mother’s Day where I celebrate my mother’s, past, present and her adoring future. I have so much more to say, but perhaps, I will wait for the book to emerge when it is time. As exemplified by Sister Gita, ”from broken pieces you can still find your way.” For now, I share with all of you across the globe, take blessings from your mother and give blessings to your mother. Knowing her presence here is a blessing and we are so fortunate to be BLESSED by our mothers who have exuded courage and faith.
For more information, @americameditating #AmericaMeditating #SisterJenna #Mother’sDay— Published on May 11, 2019
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